[WikiEN-l] JarlaxleArtemis/Grawp

[Ray Saintonge]

Brian wrote:
> Marc, your argument does not address the article I posted. In fact, it
> contradicts it. You say it plays into his "turf," but as I pointed out, the
> method pits him against himself.
>
> The future of vandalism bots on Wikipedia is *certainly* machine learning
> techniques. The question is, is the community going to waste their time
> contacting the police, or figuring out what it would take to get the source
> code and some funds from the Foundation?
>
> I say it again, contacting the police and the FBI is not the solution.
> Fixing the bots is.
>   
I can only marvel at the blind religious faith that IT people exhibit in 
technical solutions to human problems.  It's as though the magic formula 
that will make all the problems go away is is a form of God's creation 
that is just around the corner. At least the Scientologists had the 
decency to call their science a church.

Calling the cops may indeed be uncreative and heavy-handed on the 
individual vandal involved, but sometimes it's the right way to go; at 
least it's a tool that can be kept handy in one's kit.  (I don't know 
enough about the specifics of this case to say this is the place to 
apply it, and I don't want to know.)  The magic solution can be just as 
heavy-handed on many who have nothing to do vandalism.

Ec
> On Mon, Dec 29, 2008 at 4:55 PM, Marc Riddell wrote:
>   
>> on 12/29/08 6:43 PM, Brian at wrote:
>>     
>>> Contacting the police and the FBI. It is an uncreative, heavy-handed measure
>>>       
>>> that does not solve the problem. It will not stop this vandal and it will
>>> not stop future vandals.
>>>       
>> I disagree, Brian. Dealing with him using the computer as the mechanism is
>> playing right into him. The computer is his turf, and the far-reaching
>> exposure is exactly what he's wanting. The computer setting is something he
>> feels he can control - the authorities would be something he could not.
>>
>> Marc
>>